Miss Liberty's Make-Over

The tired, the poor and the huddled masses still flow to New York Harbor. And 98 years after its dedication, the Statue of Liberty remains a perfect emblem of America's self-image: colossal, principled, generous. The statue, with a shroud of scaffolding, has taken on another kind of symbolism: like the American cityscape, Miss Liberty is riddled with rust and holes.

The refurbishing that is just under way will cost $30 million, virtually all from private donations. That is almost 40 times the bill for construction and installation in the 1880s. Over the next two years, the statue will undergo structural repairs of its upraised right arm, replacement of its torch and interior iron struts, renovation of the 168-step spiral staircase that leads to its crown and construction of a glass elevator that will travel from ground level to the top of the pedestal on which Liberty stands.